Coleman a key cog as nickel back

INDIANAPOLIS - Still smarting from their 30-17 loss to Indianapolis and quarterback Peyton Manning in the AFC title game last season, the Jets sought a defender who could play nickel back against the top slot receivers in the NFL. In the first round of the draft, they chose Boise State's Kyle Wilson and put him in the lineup when cornerback Darrelle Revis held out during training camp.

After Wilson struggled early, the Jets switched to Drew Coleman at the nickel, and when the Jets use five defensive backs against Manning in their first-round playoff game Saturday, Coleman generally will cover the slot. That's a tribute to his progress since yielding significant yardage last January at Lucas Oil Stadium.

"He's earned it," defensive backs coach Dennis Thurman said. "He's [fifth] on our team in sacks. A lot of times, we don't give him a lot of help. For him to do what he's done, I think he's had a remarkable year." Coleman has four sacks and three quarterback hits on blitzes, intercepted one pass, had five passes defensed and forced five fumbles.

Coleman took over for injured Donald Strickland at nickel last year, only to get scorched on a 46-yard pass to slot receiver Austin Collie. It went over Coleman's head one play before Manning hit Collie for a 16-yard TD that cut the Jets' halftime lead to 17-13. "Everybody said, 'Drew gave up that big play,' " Thurman said. "No, he didn't. I'm not going to throw anybody under the bus, but no, that was not Drew."

In fact, it was safety Kerry Rhodes, who also was victimized on the TD pass that followed and argued about it with safety Jim Leonhard. Rhodes was supposed to provide deep help on the 46-yarder and should have been in position to break it up. Those communication problems are the reason Rhodes was traded. When Strickland wasn't re-signed, it was expected that Wilson would start at nickel, but after playing on the outside at corner in college, he found the move inside tough.

"There's a lot more space when you play in the middle," Thurman explained. "You have to learn where your help is, where you don't have help, where you shade this guy or that guy. Nickel on this team is probably the most valuable position on our defense.

"To say a rookie would come in and play well at nickel, we were a bit ambitious. So we went with the more experienced guy in Drew, and he's handled himself well."

The key will be improved communication. Defensive backs might be using different coverage concepts in different areas of the field, but all must know where they should be.

"If you understand when to use which concept, you'll be fine," Thurman said. "There were times last year where they were told, 'Don't use this in this situation.' They used it anyway. So it's understanding what we want and when we want it. Otherwise, we become vulnerable to a big play."